


the higher they fly (the harder they fall)

by florentines



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Greek Mythology - Freeform, M/M, Multi, clumsy wind spirit! mark, cupid! donghyuck, minor greek gods/spirits, this is the au you never thought you would need and honestly probably still don't need
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-17 02:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14823393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/florentines/pseuds/florentines
Summary: “I didn’t even know that it was possible for wind spirits to trip over anything, let alone their own two feet.”(lesser greek gods au in which hyuck is cupid and mark is stupid)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i haven't written fic in years, but i had a hankering for such a Specific greek gods au that i figured i just needed to write it myself. this is my first foray into the nct fandom by the way, so please be gentle!

It is almost dawn when Donghyuck materializes behind one of the stone statues guarding the temple of Artemis, the sun shyly peeking through gray clouds heavy with rain. High above his head, the faintest glimmer of a waxing moon can still be seen, half-obscured by the lightening lavender sky. In the liminal light of imminent sunrise, the statues’ blade-like features almost soften, their razor-sharp edges curving to welcome the sun. A light breeze blows past Donghyuck, lifting the strands of hair framing his face in a cheery dance and forming a halo of gold around his head. 

 

The silver-shrouded shrine isn’t a place he visits often, for obvious reasons, so it had been difficult for him to manifest himself there. His mouth twists into a small grimace as he blinks away the dark spots that swim across his vision, and he shakily grips the statue’s leg for support.

 

A clap of thunder reverberates through the air, and the clouds on the horizon suddenly begin to agitate, darkening imperceptibly. With a snort, Donghyuck releases his hold on the statue’s marbled thigh, mentally chiding himself for being so careless. Gossipy deities in Olympus always pegged Aphrodite to be the overdramatic one, but it seemed that Artemis could also pull a few supernatural stunts when the purity of her guardian statues was endangered. He cheekily winks at the statue in question and shoulders his quiver, hurrying inside the temple before the oncoming rain can get to him.

 

As soon as he crosses the threshold of the structure, he is roughly pulled to the side by a dark figure. Immediately, Donghyuck snaps his fingers, and a small golden light blooms between his hands, illuminating one sheepish Jung Jaehyun.

 

“Apollo has been teaching you some new tricks, huh?” Jaehyun whispers teasingly, his hands dropping to his sides. Having identified his half-brother, Donghyuck quickly pulls him into a hug, crushing his bow between them.

 

“I haven’t seen you in so long! Months of ignoring my Iris-messages while I get pummeled to pieces on the battlefield, and the first reply I get back from my dick brother is that he has his eyes on a new boy. And is still as hopeless at love as ever.” Donghyuck whisper-yells. Jaehyun huffs a quiet laugh into the shorter boy’s hair and steps back, motioning for Donghyuck to crouch with him behind a marble pillar.

 

“I’m really sorry I wasn’t able to respond to your messages, but in my defense, Iris has been giving me the cold shoulder ever since that, um, _incident_ we had last summer. I had to give her twelve drachmas just so that she would deliver my last message to you. Twelve whole drachmas! Can you believe the nerve of her?” Jaehyun whisper-yells back over his shoulder, stretching his neck out from behind the pillar to peek at something in main pavilion.

 

“Your half-assed apology is accepted, but why are we whispering again? Also, who’s the new object of your- mmph!” Donghyuck is cut off by Jaehyun’s hand covering his mouth, the older boy’s eyes shining brightly.

 

“Look, that’s him.” Jaehyun says softly, his voice carrying an unfamiliar quality to it. Donghyuck carefully stands on his tiptoes and squints over Jaehyun’s unfairly tall shoulder—his eyes search the pavilion in front him for a few seconds before focusing on the boy draped in silvery silks kneeling before the altar. The boy’s pale face is raised serenely in humble exaltation and his lips move silently, reciting an unspoken prayer. Even from his position behind the pillar, Donghyuck can see the soft fan of dark lashes dusting the boy’s cheeks, the sharp jut of collarbones against his alabaster skin. His delicate features are pretty in a fragile way, Donghyuck supposes, but it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.

 

He turns around to tell Jaehyun exactly this but is interrupted by a clear, sweet melody he knows is the beginning of the hymns of Artemis. A sense of calm slowly washes over him, and Donghyuck is unwillingly drawn from his hiding place behind the pillar by the altar boy’s lilting, hypnotic voice. He could probably stay in Artemis’s godforsaken temple for the rest of eternity if it meant being able to listen to this boy sing for an equal duration.

 

Donghyuck is shaken out of his reverie by a swift tug on his arm and a choking sound to his left, and he swivels his head to find Jaehyun staring at him with wide eyes.

 

“You see what I mean by ‘ethereal’ now, right?” Jaehyun breathes, a small smile on his lips. “He does this every single day at the break of dawn.”

 

“I- “ Donghyuck begins, about to nod in agreement with Jaehyun. And then he remembers where they are. And realizes who the boy in silver actually is. Horror suddenly dawns on him, and he hurriedly pulls his lovestruck half-brother outside of the temple so that he can properly express it.

 

“You never told me that the boy you were infatuated with was a blessed priest of Artemis!” Donghyuck nearly shrieks. “You know how Artemis is with the purity and maidenhood of her followers and all that! She will quite literally smite you until you’re nothing but a pile of ashes on the floor of her temple, and then she’ll make that pretty priest boy sweep up your smoking remains!”

 

“At least then I’d be swept up in his arms,” Jaehyun sighs dreamily, half-listening to the younger boy’s shrieking.

 

“Hyung!” Donghyuck screeches shrilly, his voice rising an octave. “Are you hearing yourself right now?” He vigorously shakes the other boy by his shoulders, trying to instill some sense of self-preservation in him. “Do you have a death wish?” At this, Jaehyun pouts.

 

“I know he’s technically off-limits, but love is supposed to transcend all boundaries, right?” Jaehyun protests. He defeatedly shrugs off Donghyuck’s hands before continuing. “I already know Mother is going to have a field day with this, but can you just give me a chance? I wanted you to know about this so that everything wouldn’t feel so hopeless, but I guess that was a dumb idea.” Jaehyun looks up him, frowning slightly. Donghyuck feels his heart pinch in his chest and he lets out a sigh. Faintly, he registers the smell of crackling ozone enveloping them, and he wonders internally whether or not Artemis is eavesdropping on their conversation.

 

“Okay, fine, I’ll try to ditch my responsible-younger-brother complex this time. At least I tried, you know? I’ll give you my blessing, if that’s what you wanted.” Donghyuck says reluctantly, and Jaehyun grins.

 

“A blessing from Cupid himself, what an honor!” Jaehyun laughs warmly, happy and carefree once more.

 

“You know what I meant! I’ll keep an eye on him, make sure Mother doesn’t play with his feelings too much, that kind of thing. That boy _was_ pretty cute, and I guess it wouldn’t hurt too much for you to try and defy a permanent godly covenant. I’ve heard that death by smiting is practically painless for the smitee-”

 

“Donghyuck!”

 

“All I’m saying is, don’t act all surprised when you end up in Tartarus for defiling one of Artemis’s chosen warriors. I definitely don’t have the power to break you out of hell, so please be careful, okay?” Donghyuck responds, lightly grasping Jaehyun’s hands.

 

“Thanks, Donghyuck,” Jaehyun says sincerely. “I know you really care about me, your most favorite brother in the whole entire world, so I’ll try not to mess this up,” he continues, lips pulling up into a smirk.

 

“Hyung, you’re the only brother I have.” Donghyuck deadpans. He can almost smell the rain approaching, and he knows that it is time for him to take his leave. “Remember to stay safe! And update me on how your courtship goes!” Donghyuck yells, his legs already disappearing. He manages to blow one last kiss before his face dissipates, and Jaehyun is left smiling at the space in front of him through soaked strands of hair, rain falling from the heavens in sheets.

 

In the whole commotion with Donghyuck, he hadn’t noticed that the singing inside the temple had stopped, and he feels his heart skip several beats when he hears a soft voice call out from behind him.

 

“Excuse me, but would you like to come inside? I’d hate for you to get caught in the rain, especially when we have a perfectly good roof right here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops my finger slipped
> 
> i hadn't intended for the entire first chapter to be dojae-centric, but by the time i finished writing it, i didn't have the heart to delete it, so here it is. i was incredibly, irrationally drawn to a son-of-aphrodite!jaehyun and priest-of-artemis!doyoung dynamic so maybe i'll write a spin-off in the future? anyways, the rest of dream is introduced in the next chapter, so panicked markhyuck readers, please do not fret.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: 3k of bad banter up ahead 
> 
> i had originally planned on posting this a lot sooner than i did, but i broke my glasses two days ago and have been basically blind since, so finishing this chapter has been a bit of a struggle (read: me typing a few sentences and copying it into google translate so that google can read it out loud to me). i hope you'll still enjoy this chapter though, even if it is a bit late!

Donghyuck severely misjudged the distance between him and the ground in his hurry to escape Artemis’s wrath, so morning finds him crashing through the dense forest foliage, managing to nearly impale himself on every overhanging branch on his way down. He lands in a group of wilting ferns with a loud _thud_ , groaning weakly as he rolls onto his side. Vaguely, Donghyuck registers a high-pitched scream coming from somewhere to the right of him, and he groans again, flopping back down onto the ferns’ delicate fronds. After a moment, the screaming stutters to a stop, and Donghyuck finally decides to make a pitiful attempt at pushing himself up.

 

Every single bone in his upper body protests as he settles into a hunched sitting position, and Donghyuck is beginning to seriously consider surrendering to the whims of nature and staying on the leaf-strewn ground forever when he is suddenly jerked upright, his arm nearly dislocating with the force of the pull. Donghyuck takes a second to rub away the plant debris from his eyelashes with his other arm, and when he opens his eyes, he is met with the pouting face of the loudest, jumpiest dryad to ever walk the earth. Or that he has ever had the misfortune of meeting, really.

 

“Hyung, you said that out loud!” Chenle whines loudly, letting go of Donghyuck and crossing his arms with a huff. Donghyuck winces as the wood nymph’s voice pierces through his eardrums, leaving him with a ringing pain in both ears.

 

“Isn’t it a bit too early to be screaming this much, Chenle?” Donghyuck asks, ruffling the other’s singed blonde hair, the tips black with soot. _Interesting_. Chenle’s hair was usually brushed to perfection and spotlessly styled in a fluffy side part, which was hard to maintain considering his line of work. Said boy shoots him a glare before bending down to grab a woven basket of medicinal herbs, using his spare hand to intertwine his fingers with Donghyuck’s and tug him towards the edge of his clearing.

 

“Normally, yes! But you won’t believe what happened this morning!” Chenle exclaims angrily, flailing his basket about. “I was just peacefully going about my daily pruning with the butterfly bushes when I was rudely disturbed by the smell of my entire juniper patch burning to the ground. Do you know what burning juniper smells like, hyung?” Donghyuck doesn’t even get the chance to respond before Chenle blusters on, his voice pitching higher. “It smells like dashed hopes and wasted effort! All I was able to save were a few measly sprigs!” At this, Chenle sets down his basket and picks up his secateurs, swiping at his cheeks with a choked sniffle. He crouches and makes to begin pruning an already over-pruned primrose shrub when Donghyuck gently removes the shears from his grip, placing them on the ground beside him.

 

“Let me guess, it was Jisung again?”

 

“Who else could it be? I swear, that boy has hands infused with dark magic. How else could someone just carelessly toss their used flint over their shoulder and start an entire forest fire? Jeno-hyung even had to come by and drench me with water so that I wouldn’t burn up.” Chenle grumbles half-heartedly, swatting Donghyuck’s hand away when he sees the older boy reaching for his wild strawberries. Donghyuck sticks out his tongue and pinches one off the vine anyway, popping it in his mouth whole with a satisfied hum.

 

“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” Donghyuck asks, chewing thoughtfully on his stolen strawberry. “He never means to do the harm that he does, and I’m sure he’d be happy to apologize and help you replant the juniper if you just asked him.”

 

“I’d rather not have to talk to him ever again,” Chenle retorts, bouncing back up from his crouch. The two of them begin to pick through the underbrush, making their way to the wildflower meadow at the edge of Chenle’s forest. “Or see him, for that matter. In the future, if he even dares to come within five leagues of my plants, I’m going to chase him off with my pruning shears.” Donghyuck barks out a surprised laugh in reply, knowing that despite his threats, Chenle didn’t have a single vicious bone in his body.

 

“You realize that his temple is located in the middle of your forest, right? And that he kind of needs your plants to create the healing magic that he does.” Donghyuck grins, lightly flicking the other boy’s forehead. Chenle scowls and shoves at Donghyuck’s shoulder, refusing to acknowledge the simple logic of the older boy’s words.

 

“Since when did you become the voice of reason, chief angel of love and desire?” Chenle snarks back, cutting their conversation short by running ahead to greet two figures sitting in the grass. Donghyuck snorts and lets the matter drop, chasing after the flaxen-haired boy into a sunny, wildflower-speckled meadow.

 

“Donghyuck, you’re back!” Renjun sighs happily as the archer nears him, Chenle already tucked into his side and pouting once more. Another boy clad in white with a head of hair so dark that it almost looked blue in the sunlight shifts in Renjun’s lap, his hands tangling themselves in Renjun’s pollen-dusted tunic.

 

“Hey, Renjunnie!” Donghyuck smiles, a wide grin splitting his face. “If I had known that you were all going to wear white today, I would’ve changed.” Renjun laughs back and pulls Donghyuck close, kissing his cheek and picking the remaining twigs out of his hair with nimble fingers.

 

“How did these get here? Also, would you have really? I’m not sure you own anything other those black linen shirts you’re ever-so-fond of, but I guess it’s the thought that counts.” Renjun replies, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Oi, get up,” he murmurs softly to the boy slumped over his legs, gently prodding his shoulder. “Donghyuck’s finally back.” The other boy doesn’t even deign to give a reply, sleepily nodding his head in Donghyuck’s general direction before settling back into Renjun’s arms.

 

“I think Jeno-hyung might have come down with a fever while you were away,” Chenle whispers to Donghyuck, his lips pursing in concern. “Like I said, he helped me out earlier with the forest fire, but it took a lot out of him. Not to mention, he’s been spending a lot more time with Renjun, and gods know what kind of misery his pollen allergy has been putting him through.” Renjun hums in response, carding a lazy hand through Jeno’s bluebell-dotted obsidian locks. Jeno responds by wrapping his arms around Renjun’s waist and burrowing even further into his lap, causing the other boy to pink considerably.

 

“And yes, before you ask, we did try asking Jisung for help. He shoved about five different herbal tinctures down Jeno’s throat before we realized it wasn’t doing anything but making him drowsy, so I’m hoping that he’ll just be able to sleep this off.” Renjun adds, his casual tone belying the dark cloud of worry forming in his chest.

 

Donghyuck examines the raven-haired boy in question, taking note of his flushed cheeks and damp brow. He lifts Jeno’s hand and places the pads of his fingers against the other boy’s wrist, furrowing his brow at the naiad’s racing, uneven pulse. Surreptitiously, he throws a glance over Renjun’s shoulder at the river that runs through the wildflower meadow, his frown deepening when he realizes that the once fast-moving flow had been reduced to a meandering brook.

 

“Have you tried asking Jaemin for help?” Donghyuck suggests tentatively, already bracing himself for Renjun’s exasperated glare. “It might have something to do with Jeno’s river, but I don’t really know enough about how naiad vitality works to tell you anything useful about it.” To his surprise, Renjun considers his proposal thoughtfully, eventually nodding in grudging agreement.

 

“Also, to answer your earlier question, I had a mishap with manifesting myself here, and Chenle’s trees were on the receiving end of my fall.” Renjun snorts at this, and Donghyuck shoves his shoulder, mock-offended. “By the way, where is Jaemin? I thought he would at least show up to say hello to his best friend after ages of not seeing me. How could he not miss this handsome face?” Donghyuck whines petulantly. Jeno starts in a fit of coughing that sounds suspiciously like an aborted laugh, and Renjun slaps his arm to shush him, a small smile playing on his lips.

 

“Last I checked, Jaemin was out on the sandbar dealing with some hapless aura who accidentally beached an entire fleet of supply ships. I think I might’ve actually managed to find someone more unintentionally problematic than me, “ Jisung pipes up happily, suddenly materializing behind the trio. Chenle squawks and immediately scuttles away from him, settling into a shaded patch of violets ten feet away and glowering at Jisung with distrustful eyes. Renjun looks down at the empty space by his side and blinks, amazed that the younger boy had managed to move away so quickly. Jisung notices the Chenle-shaped space in front of him and flushes, shooting the dryad cowering near the trees an embarrassed smile.

 

 _At least he’s self-aware_ , Donghyuck winces, reaching up to pull the healing god down onto the grass beside him. Jisung sits down gratefully, gratified that at least one person wasn’t deathly scared of his inherent clumsiness. Without Chenle’s excited screeching in the background, everything suddenly felt too quiet.

 

“All this time, and your cheeks still haven’t gotten any less adorable” Donghyuck cheers, breaking the tense silence. He makes grabby hands in the younger boy’s direction and Jisung pulls a face at him, slapping Donghyuck’s hands away from his cheeks.

 

“Why is Donghyuck acting like he’s simultaneously the sole bread-winning father of a family of five and a veteran war hero come to claim his laurels?” Jisung asks snarkily, turning his head towards Renjun. Jeno lets out an ugly full-body cackle, jostling Renjun’s legs and nearly choking with the effort of laughing so much. Donghyuck pointedly ignores him, thinking to himself that Jeno would completely deserve it if he choked to death on his own laughter.

 

“It’s because I basically am! And don’t say you didn’t miss me while I was away training with Apollo, because Renjun Iris-messaged me last week saying that you broke down in tears when you saw my spare bow propped up outside of your temple. Also, that’s _hyung_ to you, brat.” Donghyuck huffs, all in a single breath. Jisung opens his mouth to respond with an equally snide comeback, but lets out an unearthly, high-pitched scream instead. Not knowing what Jisung is screaming about but joining him nonetheless, Donghyuck yells and pitches to the side. Renjun twists all the way around to stare at them with wide eyes and Jeno startles, rolling off of Renjun’s legs and hitting the grass with a painful _thump_. Chenle, watching from a safe distance away, bursts into giggles.

 

“Hey, flower boy, what’s up?” Jaemin drawls, winking at Renjun. Jisung shoots him a dirty look as he tries to pry the other boy’s arms from his sides, and Renjun flinches away like he’s been burned, burying his hands into the folds of his tunic and resolutely looking anywhere but at Jaemin. Jaemin only chuckles, removing his arms from Jisung’s now-soaked chiton and moving to rest his chin on top of Donghyuck’s head. Donghyuck yelps when he feels cold seawater seep into the back of his shirt and quickly wrestles Jaemin’s dripping-wet arms away from his shoulders, pinning them to his sides.

 

“Did you manifest straight out of the ocean?” Chenle chortles, joining them again in the sun, his hand failing to hide his obvious smile at Jisung’s discomfort. Jaemin sits, folding his legs against his chest and shaking his hair out, spraying saltwater and silt everywhere. Jeno groans somewhere to the left of them and sneezes, his torso hidden by the tall, swaying grasses surrounding the boys.

 

“No, I manifested straight out of Renjunnie’s dreams!” Jaemin says with a smirk, reaching over to pinch Chenle’s cheeks. Renjun’s fists clench in the soft linen on his thighs and he looks heavenward, as if praying to the gods for mercy.

 

“Also, I heard you managed to make it back in one piece.” Jaemin continues, looking to Donghyuck. “Felicitations, my friend.” he says solemnly, clasping Donghyuck’s hands in his with false sincerity. Donghyuck makes a face and lunges forward, forcing Jaemin into a headlock. Jaemin squeals and raises his hands in surrender. “Kidding! You already know I’ve been keeping an eye on your health through the scrying pond. How has the war been treating you, by the way?” Donghyuck’s face contorts into an even more pained expression, and Jisung vehemently shakes his head at Jaemin from behind Donghyuck

 

“Mother’s been a right lunatic with the whole Helen affair, and Apollo has been losing his mind over Zeus’s ban on godly interference by the major twelve. Also, Father’s been trying to get me to switch sides since last year, and I think I’m supposed to be scouting out the Achaean camps right now.” Donghyuck exhales, slumping against his still-slightly-damp best friend. “Has Poseidon mentioned anything about sending you into battle?” he asks hesitantly, knowing that Jaemin’s father was a touchy subject for him.

 

“I think he’s resigned himself to the fact that I’ll just be a disappointment to him for the rest of my pitiful existence in his oceans, so he’s been pretty silent on the fighting front.” Jaemin laughs self-deprecatingly, his grin too sharp around the edges. “After all, what good can a worthless nymph like me do when compared to legendary warriors like Triton?”

 

“Don’t say that,” Renjun suddenly says, interrupting their conversation. Donghyuck didn’t think that he had been listening, if the half-woven daisy chain hanging from Renjun’s fingers was any indication. “You’re considerate and even brave when the occasion calls for it, so I don’t think you’re worthless.” Renjun’s eyes widen as soon as the words leave his mouth, as if he had surprised himself by speaking up. Jaemin’s face is a mirror image of his, eyes round and jaw slack with disbelief. Donghyuck whips his head between the two of them, trying not to laugh at his friends’ dumbfounded expressions.

 

“So you do care!” Jaemin exclaims, quickly recovering. “Aw, Renjun, I can already feel the beginning of our love story blossoming.” Renjun reddens, his cheeks flushing a delicate pink.

 

“If I had known you had those feelings about me, I would have done something sooner!” Jaemin continues, a mischievous smile lighting up his face. “Renjunnie, you look red as a rose. Is something wrong?” Jaemin tuts, mock-concern dripping from his voice.

 

“Forget I said anything, gods!” Renjun huffs, grabbing Chenle’s wrist and pulling him out of the heated staring contest he was having with Jisung. “I’m going to go help Chenle sprout some juniper seedlings so that he can begin replanting.” Renjun declares, ignoring Chenle’s protests that _he can regrow them on his own just fine, thank you very much_.

 

“Someone make sure Jeno doesn’t sneeze himself out of existence while I’m gone, okay?” Renjuns adds, giving the feverish river god a concerned glance before tugging Chenle in the direction of the woods.

 

“Will do, flower boy!” Jaemin yells back with a salute, trying not to smile at the aggrieved expression that finds its way onto Renjun’s face. Jaemin watches him storm off into the forest with an amused grin, turning back to Donghyuck only after the two boys have disappeared from view.

 

"You need to stop teasing Renjun like that, Jaemin," Donghyuck says, flicking Jaemin's forehead. He's sincerely worried that Renjun will finally snap one day and make Jaemin die tragically by pollen-induced asphyxiation, and he'd rather not have to deal with another severely congested friend. 

 

"But Renjun's so cute when he blushes!" Jaemin objects, rubbing sullenly at the quickly reddening spot on his forehead. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, choosing not to comment on how Renjun looked more furious than flustered before he had stalked off with Chenle. 

 

“Oh, that reminds me,” Jaemin starts, looking sheepish. “I actually dropped by to see if you could help me with this sandbar situation I’ve been dealing with. Some idiot wind god did a flip and beached an entire fleet of ships with military supplies for the Achaeans, and I’ve spent the whole morning trying to untangle their rigging. It would really help if you could come shoot some of the higher ropes free.” Jaemin rubs the back of his neck embarrassedly, his inability to access Zeus’s dominion of sky due to his godly parentage going unsaid but understood.

 

“You know, I shouldn’t be assisting the enemy,” Donghyuck begins, a pout already finding its way to Jaemin’s lips. “But I have nothing better to do while I hide out here and avoid Apollo, so why not?” he finishes, standing and pulling Jaemin up with him. Jaemin beams at Donghyuck beatifically and loops his arm through the other boy’s, waving at Jisung and Jeno before preparing to manifest them to the beach. Jisung looks up dejectedly, Renjun’s daisy chain wilting between his restless fingers.

 

“Take care of your hyung, okay? Make sure to force-feed him all of the herbal remedies you can think of.” Jaemin calls out to the younger boy, wiggling his fading fingers at the remaining two. Jeno, still sprawled in the grass, raises his hand to make a rude gesture before succumbing to a series of hacking coughs. Jisung looks over at him and sighs, giving Jaemin and Donghyuck an obligatory wave before reaching down to help prop Jeno up.

 

“I hope you’ll feel better soon!” is all Donghyuck is able to get out before he disappears completely. When he comes to, the taste of salt on his lips is the first thing he processes before he even opens his eyes. When he does, he nearly loses his balance when sees that he’s knee-deep in crystalline blue waters, his toes sinking into soft white sand. Having reoriented himself, Donghyuck squints into the blinding sunlight and observes the deep blue stretching as far as he can see in every direction, only interrupted by the occasional dotting of small islands on the horizon and _ah_ , _there it is_. The beached fleet of ships, each vessel in a similar state of disarray, with the one closest to him leaning dangerously to the right. He makes to step closer to the wreckage when suddenly, a figure swoops by overhead, the edges of their chiton barely brushing Donghyuck’s cheek.

 

Donghyuck looks up to see who it is and almost trips backwards into the water, his mind running a million miles a minute.

 

“You, again!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sorry, i lied. mark doesn’t really show up until the next chapter (note the chapter increase), and i hope you aren’t too disappointed by that :/
> 
> also, in case it wasn’t clear by their dialogue and the locations of their introductions, i’m going to run through the dreamies+their respective godly roles just so that we're on the same page:
> 
> donghyuck- eros, the god of desire (also known as cupid)  
> chenle- your local overexcited neighborhood dryad (wood nymph)  
> jisung- asclepius, the butterfingered god of healing  
> renjun- chloris, the god of springtime and flowers  
> jeno- tired naiad (river nymph/god) allergic to everything  
> jaemin- unintentionally(?) suave nereid (sea nymph)  
> mark: can’t launch a thousand ships with his face, but can definitely crash them
> 
> if i got any of this wrong please feel free to school me in the comments
> 
> (and yes, i know that traditionally, most of these roles are gendered as female, but fuck gender roles if i want renjun in a flower crown i’ll have renjun in a flower crown thank you very much i’ll get off my soapbox now)


End file.
